Christmas Bash
by I'mSolidSnaek
Summary: It is tradition for the four friends to get together every Christmas starting three years ago. The second year, they began bringing their own friends if they could make it. But, it gets rather...chaotic at some parts, especially the third. From video games to dinner shenanigans to failed mistletoe, you name it.


**Well, Christmas Eve and I managed to get this out one day before the big event, at least in my area. Just this humorous oneshot on the interactions between friends during Christmas. Ninten and Claus will be much like their incarnations from Unlikely Friendship, just giving you all a heads up if you've read that.**

 **Also, saw the new Star Wars Monday. I liked it a lot. So much that I saw it a second time on Thursday.**

 **I hope you enjoy this!**

* * *

The 22nd of December.

Only two days until Christmas Eve and Ness was nearly bouncing off the walls in excitement. He anxiously glanced at the clock, hoping for the thirteen remaining minutes would go faster. It was nearly time for people to start arriving, and his mother and sister were out at a play to give him and his friends some extra space.

A few years ago, he and his friends agreed to get together a few days before Christmas so that not only could they say they celebrated Christmas with family, but also with friends. It was tradition to also bring together as many of their friends as they could, though not everybody would be able to make it.

The reason for this was because Ninten would leave town just a day before Christmas Eve every year for the West Coast since most of his family was concentrated there. Lucas and Claus would be staying home along with Ness, so they would still be able to hang out…though they would admittedly miss having the cynic around.

Regarding their other friends, Ness was able to convince Poo to join while Paula eagerly accepted the invite, Ninten brought Loid and Ana while Lucas and Claus haggled Kumatora into reluctantly accepting (Claus was responsible for 99.9% of the haggling). Teddy and Duster had concerts they had to perform at while Jeff left on a field trip that took place over Winter Break regarding reverse engineering.

Ness sighed; reflecting on the time they all knew each other. In just 2 ½ more years and they'd graduate and be scattered in different colleges. Ness frankly had no idea on what he wanted to do. He could become a baseball star, but…with the powers he wanted to keep hidden, it was probably best that he didn't. Still, he wished that the teachers would stop stressing them out about the future. They still had the rest of high school and college before they went into a career! Jeez.

His friends weren't much better off in their careers. Ninten was interested in the path of a historian, but couldn't decide exactly on what he would do with a history degree. Claus joked about him being a teacher (read: smacking troublemakers around)…which earned him a smack upside the head from the victim of his teasing.

On the other hand, Claus had put little to no effort into deciding what he would do, much to Ninten's constant exasperation. The teen had wasted a lot of oxygen trying to convince the redhead to at least think of the future, but without success. Lucas was too indecisive about what he would do. Any question about his future would leave him a nervous wreck.

' _Wait, how did I get off onto this?'_ Ness wondered as he chuckled. _'I must really be excited if my thoughts are wandering like this.'_ Ness glanced at the clock again; ten more minutes until five.

The doorbell rang a few seconds later. Having a strong suspicion about who was at the door (the only one who would arrive this early); Ness eagerly leapt out of the sofa and practically crashed into the door in his excitement.

"You certainly are fashionably early, aren't you?" Ness joked as he opened the door.

The boy grunted in reply. "You know how I think the 'fashionably late' crap is BS," he replied.

"True, true," Ness nodded. "But are you sure that was the only reason, Ninten?" he asked, eyes narrowing in amusement.

"…I might have wanted to get here when it wasn't too noisy," Ninten admitted. "And take out any mistletoe that could be used for pranks when nobody was looking," he added.

"Well come in! Make yourself at home! And take out the nonexistent mistletoes!" Ness said, moving out of the entrance.

"I can see you are nearly jumping off the walls," Ninten remarked as he set his backpack on the ground (likely full of gifts and maybe his 3DS XL).

"Well, can ya blame me?" Ness asked rhetorically as his friend took off the remainder of his winter gear. "This day is _always_ a blast; every single time we did it! This is probably the best Christmas present I can ask for!"

Ninen chuckled. "I can see why," he remarked.

"So…before anyone gets here…" Ness grinned. "How about we go a few rounds of Smash before the others get here?"

"What about other games, like Mario Party or Fortune Street?" Ninten asked.

"We _always_ start out with Smash Brothers, Ninten," Ness retorted. "I have no intention of breaking tradition this year."

Ninten's mouth curled up into a smirk as he reached into his backpack. "Your funeral," he challenged as he pulled out his 3DS XL.

* * *

A few minutes later, the two friends were at it. Sadly, it was not: no items, Fox only, Final Destination. But it was: no items, Mewtwo vs Toon Link, Battlefield. Both were down to one stock at this point, and they were both getting to high percent. Ninten and Ness were completely focused as they rapidly adapted to every change.

Mewtwo whacked Toon Link away with its tail, but Toon Link reacted quickly, latching onto Mewtwo with the hookshot and kicking the legendary over him.

The two boys were completely engrossed in their game, until Toon Link intercepted Mewtwo off the stage with a mighty slash, sending him past the KO line.

"No!" Ness cried as he registered what happened.

"Told you it was your funeral," Ninten smirked triumphantly.

"Next time it will be _your_ funeral," Ness replied.

Before Ninten could reply, the doorbell rang, causing their heads to whip around to the door.

"I'll get it," Ness said standing up and walking over. He opened it, revealing the next guest.

"Hey there, kid," the pink-haired girl outside greeted.

"Hi Kumatora," he greeted. "Though is it really too much to ask to call me by name?"

Kumatora shrugged. "I rarely ever call people by their names anyway," she told him. "By the way, is there anyone here yet?" she asked.

"Only Ninten," Ness said.

Kumatora smirked. "Good; we have a score to settle," she said as she entered.

"Um…can you please take off your boots?" Ness asked. "I really don't want to clean up more than I have to."

"Okay momma's boy," Kumatora (over)dramatically rolled her eyes as she yanked the boots in question off.

"Don't call me that," Ness flatly said, already growing irritated by her antics. It was a wonder that the twins managed to get along with her.

"Come on kid, lighten up," she grinned.

"I think you should be telling Ninten that," Ness deadpanned.

"Don't think I didn't hear that Ness," Ninten called from his seat. Ness grinned sheepishly as Kumatora locked eyes with his friend.

"…We meet again, nemesis," Kumatora grinned menacingly.

Ninten was evidently not amused given the flat look on his face. "You'll have to try harder than that if you want to intimidate me," he stated.

"You and me, that game, right now," Kumatora said, gesturing to the TV.

"…and Ness," Ninten added. "This is a _party_. This is not the national resume-your-petty-rivalry-with-Ninten-day."

"Fine," Kumatora grumbled. "But you have to promise to go at it the next chance we get."

"Or we could start things now in a free-for-all," Ness interrupted.

The doorbell rang again. "I'll take care of it," Ness offered as he walked over to the door, opening it for the third time in minutes. He smiled brightly at seeing who just arrived. "Hey Paula, how's it going?" Ness greeted.

"Oh, it's good," she replied. "How are you?"

"Practically bouncing off the walls, though a few rounds of Smash helped alleviate it," Ness grinned.

"Video games again?" Paula said as she rolled her eyes. "You said two years ago you did that, and last year we did that same game first! Can't you boys start out with anything new?"

"Excuse me? I do believe I am a _girl_ unless I'm beginning to go senile at seventeen years old!" Kumatora shouted from her seat.

"It was Ness who suggested it first," Ninten pointed out as Paula took off her winter gear.

"Well, I hope you're ready to get smacked, because that's what's gonna happen in game," Paula challenged.

"In your dreams, princess," Kumatora rolled her eyes.

* * *

"You know, the next time the doorbell rings, maybe you should answer it and try to pose as Ness," Paula joked to Ninten as they were selecting their characters for the next round.

"Is that a dare?" Kumatora asked.

At that moment, fate decided to give a little more emphasis on the tomboy's words and have the doorbell ring.

"…Well, why not? Let's see if I can fool anyone," Ninten shrugged as he got up from his seat to head for the door.

He could hear an excited voice chattering away on the other side of the door and sighed, already knowing who it was he'd have the 'honor' of receiving.

"Hello there Lucas and Claus," he greeted as soon as he opened the door.

"Hey Ness," Lucas immediately replied. His eyes widened as he realized who exactly it was who he was talking to. "No, wait! Sorry! I didn't think!"

Claus couldn't help a laugh, but gave a friendly path on his stuttering brother's back and smirked at Ninten. Ninten groaned in his mind, knowing that Claus wouldn't let this go for a long time. "Well well Ninty, why are you acting as Ness?" the redhead asked.

Ninten's eyes narrowed in irritation. "I was seeing if I could fool anyone _Clausy,"_ Ninten growled through gritted teeth. He really hated that name his...friend called him. It was a wonder that they could even be called that in the first place.

"Okay okay, geez…" Claus held his hands up in mock surrender. "No need to act so hostile," he commented as he entered the house, Lucas already having taken his gear off (still acting a little embarrassed).

"Remember to take off your boots Claus!" Ness called from his position.

"It's probably a good idea to take off your accessories as well," Kumatora called. "You don't have to, but you'll probably boil if you don't!"

"Good one!" Claus replied as he shed his winter clothes off, dumping them right next to Lucas's.

"At least _try_ to be a little more organized," Ninten muttered as he shut the door.

"Too much work," Claus said.

"How many times have I said 'you are _so damn lazy'_ by now?" Ninten shook his head.

"Over nine thousand."

"Of course…not even a minute past five and you've already make a Dragon Ball reference. New record," Kumatora deadpanned.

The doorbell rang again.

"Well, I guess I'll see if I can fool two," Ninten shrugged, opening the door again.

"No problem," Ninten replied just before the doorbell rang again, so he reopened the door.

"Hi Ninten," Ana greeted. "I...didn't expect you to be the doorman."

"Paula joked that I should try to pose as Ness," Ninten explained. "He's the real doorman."

"Did you manage to fool anyone?"

"Lucas for a second," Ninten answered as she entered.

"Wait, Ana's fashionably late too?" Claus asked as Ana hung her coat up.

"No; it's one minute before five," Ninten deadpanned. "None of you _are_ fashionably late."

"DAMN IT!"

"And this is why I didn't want it at my house," Ninten remarked. "So my family doesn't have to hear us swear as we bicker."

"...So Smash is what you're doing right now?" Lucas asked, pointing at the screen.

"We're using the Wii U version, so that works nicely with eight player smash," Ness said. "We still have a lot of spots open if you three want to join."

"I'll sit this one out," Ana announced.

"You sure?" Paula asked.

The pigtailed girl nodded. "I don't enjoy video games a lot," she explained. "I'll just be content to watch."

"If you're okay with it," Paula reasoned.

* * *

The friends were in the midst of a debate over which stage they would play when the doorbell rang again. "I'll get it," Ness offered immediately, relieved he could get away from this spat.

"Sure," Ninten replied, looking as happy as Ness was over the childish spat.

Ness had started to head over to the door, brightly smiling and opening it like the good host he was. His eyes brightened as he saw the last two guests on the other side.

"Hey Loid, hey Poo!" he greeted.

"Greetings Master Ness," Poo bowed (to Ness's discomfort).

"H-Hey Ness," Loid said nervously.

"Poo, I would greatly appreciate it if you would please stop calling me 'master'. And Loid, no need to be too scared," he reassured the nervous albino. "Ninten and Ana are here, so I'm sure you'll have a blast. We always do this time of the year."

"Okay."

"Alright, everyone's here now!" Ness announced as he walked back, effectively breaking up the argument as everyone exchanged greetings. Ness glanced at the clock. "Well, we shouldn't keep dinner waiting for much longer. How about we set it up right now?"

"Please tell us we're not cooking this time," Ninten groaned.

"Thankfully, I learned my lesson from last year...so we won't be messing up my house with spilled food."

"Like Mr. Spaghetti here," Kumatora muttered.

"That was ONE TIME people! ONE TIME!" Claus yelled as he threw his arms up in exasperation.

"Um...what happened?" Loid asked Ana.

"Claus wound up dropping a ton of spaghetti on the ground, at Ninten's house. His mother was pissed when she found out. Her rage was further exasperated when Poo accidentally blew up an egg in the microwave."

"...Is this what the parties are like every year?" Kumatora asked, having never been to one herself.

"The one before last year's went off without a hitch," Ness said.

"Because it was just you, me, and the twins," Ninten pointed out. "Of course when you invite more people there's going to be more chaos."

"Are we just gonna sit around here and twiddle our thumbs?" Ness asked in annoyance. "Come on; I can't set this up by myself!"

The guests all looked at each other, shrugged, and went over to assist setting the table.

* * *

"Alright, dinner is served!" Ness called, sitting down at the head of the table.

Everyone gave off a collective cheer as they dug into their food eagerly, plates full of fruit, meat, and all sorts of foods.

"This tastes quite good," Lucas remarked as he chewed on some omelettes.

"I had to get your mom's recipe, but I'm happy you like them," Ness replied.

"How did you do that without either of them knowing?" Ninten asked.

Ness grinned. "Oh, I might have ditched school one day to catch her alone and have her promise she wouldn't tell either one of them."

"...I'm not sure whether to admire your cunning or smack you for ditching."

"I'm sure you wouldn't hit me in a million years, right?" Ness said.

"Do you want to learn how to do karate? I can teach you some tricks in enduring pain..." Ninten smirked. Ness backed away with his eyes wide.

"Karate is not about enduring pain," Poo said.

"And if you hurt Ness, I might give you lessons as well..." Paula added.

"It was a joke," Ninten muttered before he began chewing on some prime ribs. "Of course people never take me lightly when I crack a joke..." Lucas heard Ninten mumbling quietly.

"Maybe it's because most of the time you take things so seriously?" Lucas reasoned.

"Good point," Ninten nodded.

"So anyone see the new Star Wars movie yet?" Loid asked shyly. "B-Besides me and Jeff?"

"I have," Ninten answered.

"It was good," Paula added.

"Me and Lucas have," Claus said.

"Don't you _dare_ spoil it for us!" Kumatora barked.

Claus grinned. "Spoil?" he asked. "Well...I think I'll spoil it anyway."

 _"No!"_ the rest of the table cried, Lucas included. He didn't want to spoil the movie for anyone, and knowing his brother, he wouldn't put it entirely past him to do tha-

"The main villain is actually Magikarp."

Silence.

Lucas simply stared, processing what Claus had just said. It was so absurd and totally out there that he couldn't immediately respond. Judging from the silence, everyone else must be in similar states of disbelief.

Several more seconds passed in silence.

Kumatora was the first to break out in laughter.

"Okay, that was pretty good," she managed to get out through her bursts of laughter before relapsing into more.

One by one, everyone began to chuckle or giggle, eventually building up into full-blown laughter. Lucas found himself leaning back in his chair, clutching himself in vain to control his laughter. After several minutes (and several failed attempts at stopping), the laughter finally died down, everyone trying to catch their breath.

"Is that what really happened?" Ana asked Ninten.

"No," he said after one last chuckle.

"Well, look at you two?" Claus smirked. Lucas turned to see Ninten, with Ana leaning on him.

"So?" Ninten glared, but unable to suppress his blush completely.

"What if I stuck a mistletoe over you two...?" the redhead teased.

"Do that and I will end you," Ninten growled.

"I-I nearly fell out of my chair...laughing so hard," Ana explained, her own blush visible on her face.

"That explains it," Paula said. But she leaned over to whisper something in the other girl's ear, which caused Ninten's friend to flush even more. No doubt teasing her over this.

"So when are we going to the next activity?" Poo asked.

"When everyone's finished eating," Ness answered.

Lucas looked down at Poo's plate and bowl. "Uh...Ness?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"...Look at his plate," Lucas replied.

"Why?" Ness asked as he looked. "Oh," he stated.

Poo had already finished his food. Lucas looked down at his plate to realize only half his food had been eaten.

"...So how about we finish what we can and then move on to, say, twister?"

"Okay."

* * *

"You'll have better luck trying that with Ness and Paula," Ninten flatly stated.

Claus giggled as he swung the fishing pole above them...or at least tried to. Ninten and Ana had shifted away from the shadow of the dangling object like it was the plague before it even reached them.

"You guys suck," Claus pouted, still trying to put the mistletoe above them.

"I wouldn't want anyone teasing us over this," Ana mumbled.

"Yeah, did you ever consider that before you tried to prank us?" Ninten asked.

"I vowed I would stick a mistletoe over you two, and I will!" Claus declared, not only ignoring Ninten's question but still trying with single-minded determination to stick the freaking mistletoe over the duo and failing miserably.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see a laughing Kumatora and a giggling Lucas behind him. "Oh man, you are _so_ failing right now!" she got out between laughs.

All the sudden, Lucas glanced up and froze, cheeks flaring up. "What is it?" Claus asked.

"U-Um...Kuma?"

"Yes?"

"A-Above us..."

"What do you-" Claus noticed Kumatora freeze up...and was that actually a blush on her face? Claus blinked, knowing that Kumatora _never_ blushed over anything. He looked up.

The mistletoe was above them.

"Ack! Sorry!" Claus cried, jerking the mistletoe away from them.

"Um...W-Would they still have to...kiss...now that the mistletoe is no longer above them?"

"No, since the magic of the mistletoe should still affect them," Ness grinned. Claus got the feeling he was rubbing off on him (which was FANTASTIC!)

"With all due respect, why would withdrawing the mistletoe still make them have to kiss, especially if it was an accident?" Poo asked.

"Why can't we just look it up on the internet?" Ninten grumbled.

"Um...Ninten?" Loid stuttered.

"Yes?"

"A-Above you..."

"What's above-" Claus followed his gaze up and grinned in triumph. _'Yes! I have done it!'_ he cheered victoriously in his head. "Now now, Ninty...you know what you two have to do now..."

Ninten glanced at Ana, whose face was all red. He proceeded to glare at his friend. "I hate you," he said.

"I love you too," Claus grinned. "Now..."

Ninten sighed and faced Ana again, giving her a kiss. The entire room went 'Aww...' and Claus saw Ninten's face practically say 'shut up!'

Claus finally withdrew the mistletoe, satisfied his mission was accomplished. He saw Ninten whisper something into Ana's ear, the girl nodding. He was curious about what they said...but he guessed he would have to find out later.

* * *

"You're seriously going to be that cheap?" Ninten deadpanned.

"Hey! You're using Raikou, aren't you?" Claus retorted.

"But Raikou isn't even a major legendary...nor is my team made up of only Raikous or other legendaries."

"What's going on here?" Lucas asked, walking over to them.

"Your brother wants to use an entire team of Legendary Pokemon against me, including Primal Groudon and Mega Rayquaza."

"So?"

"Did you even train them before you threw together this team?" Ninten questioned.

Lucas shook his head and laughed, amused at their antics. "Maybe you should let Ninten chose a few more legendaries himself, Claus," he said.

"Fine..." Claus grumbled.

"Actually, no," Ninten stated. "I think I can beat him with this team."

"Haha! I knew your pride would be your downfall!" Claus cackled, starting up the battle.

Lucas...actually didn't know whether or not his brother's team would actually come up on top. Given that Ninten was the superior tactician and strategist (moreso in strategy); he figured that his friend would be able to even the odds with his brain. Nevertheless, he decided he would simply watch and see what happened.

* * *

"No!" Claus wailed.

"What happened?" Ness asked as he walked by.

"I just beat his entire team of legendaries...with only one legendary, which was Raikou," Ninten grinned.

* * *

"Come on Lucas, this'll be good," Claus chuckled, crouching next to the door.

"I'm really not sure about this, Claus," Lucas nervously replied.

"Come on, as long as we are quiet, what could possibly go wrong?"

The door they were leaning on swung open, the twins falling on each other in a heap.

Claus groaned as he got up, but he was able to catch Ninten and Ana pulling away from each other to stare at them.

"Are you all right you two?" Ana asked.

"Yeah...we're fine..." Lucas groaned.

"Did you two kiss again?" Claus blurted out.

"What were you two doing anyway?" Ninten asked, ignoring Claus's question.

"Um...Nothing!" Claus stuttered.

"Yeah, sure. The door swung open because you two weren't doing anything."

"I-It's the truth!" Lucas cried. "C-Claus totally didn't drag me with him to eavesdrop on you two to figure out if you two were in a relationship or anything!"

"Lucas!" Claus smacked his brother's arm.

"...S-Sorry!"

Ninten glared. "Claus..."

"Hehe...I guess I got my answer now...So I'll be leaving?" Claus laughed nervously as he inched away from the room.

"No," Ninten growled, advancing towards him. "You'll just blurt it out in front of everyone."

Claus really should've known better. Because Ninten knew him so well.

Ninten cracked his knuckles.

"Um..." Claus figured he was gonna die anyway, so he mind as well get in one last lick before he did. "HEY EVERYONE! NINTEN AND ANA JUST KISSED! _AND_ WITHOUT A MISTLETOE!" he shrieked as he ran away.

"HEY! Come back here you coward!" Ninten roared as he sprinted after them.

Claus was screaming at the top of his lungs as he ran up the stairs, knowing slowing down even a little bit could be the end of him. He sprinted through the hall into Ness's room. Fortunately, the window was open so he kicked out the screen and leaped out.

"YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO PAY NESS FOR THAT!" Ninten bellowed as he leaped out after his friend.

Claus ran screaming as he ran into the night, Ninten shouting curses hot on his tail.

* * *

In the end, Claus had narrowly avoided death as after one lap around the neighborhood, Ninten finally tired out and his asthma was threatening to act up. After vowing revenge later, he retired back inside and changed out of his sweaty clothes since he had a spare set in case there was a snowball fight). Claus remained outside for several more minutes before daring to set foot back in, and he made sure to steer clear from Ninten's line of sight.

"He must be pissed at you if you're that terrified of him," Ness told the redhead, amused by his behavior.

"You would be too if he was right at your heels threatening to kill you!" Claus retorted.

Ness laughed. "So I'm guessing you are too afraid to pass out presents then?"

"No."

"Well then get out of the corner and help us," Ness instructed as he set a bag next to the sofa. "And don't open the presents until Christmas morning, when the true magic of Christmas begins!"

Claus grumbled to himself about how 'magic is just a fairy-tale' as Ness walked away. The host chose to ignore that, figuring that Claus had undergone enough torment by Ninten's hands for today.

Instead, he noticed Poo off to the side, looking around the room. "What is it, Poo?" Ness asked.

"Why do people insist on giving each other material goods?" Poo asked, gazing at thin air. "I would think that the greed for things undermine the true meaning of Christmas, everyone more absorbed in their own gifts as opposed to the thought."

"That's not always the case, Poo," Ness replied. "Just as there is selfishness by me wanting to get Super Mystery Dungeon, it is still possible to give the appreciation and love involved in the holiday. Like how Lucas and Kumatora are talking right now," he gestured to the pair embroiled in a conversation as they moved presents around. "I will admit that the greed does undermine it, but we still follow the spirit."

"I see," Poo nodded. "I guess I still have much to learn about Eagleland's culture."

"Do you know why I insist on opening our presents later?" Poo tilted his head in confusion. "It's to celebrate the meaning of Christmas. We don't spent as much time playing or using whatever we got because we don't know what we got for Christmas. Therefore we can still be quite sociable with-"

"Hey slowpokes! Hurry up or we'll have to start Twister without you!"

Ness sighed as he shook his head at Kumatora's remark. "Don't worry; we'll make it," he replied.

* * *

Ness noticed Ana's yawn as she glanced at the clock, knowing that the celebration could not last much longer. "I think it's nearly time for us to go," she said, getting up.

"What? But we haven't finished our game!" Claus whined.

"It's the same time that we went our separate ways the last two times," Ness said. "We should keep tradition as it is. Besides, it'll take too long to finish up this game."

"But-"

"Ness's family needs their rest when they return," Ninten sternly told the redhead. "When it's your turn to host, you can stay up as late as you want partying."

"Yay!"

"Just note that I won't be there to see it."

"What?"

It didn't take very long to clean everything up. The dishes and utensils from dinner had already been washed and the ground was remarkably clean for a party. That being said, there were...strange incidents like when Paula found a pair of filthy socks dangling from a lamp. She had been grossed out to say the least.

In ten minutes, Ness was pleased with their progress. Outside a few forgivable instances, most of the area had been completely cleaned up. "Good work everybody," he complimented as he nodded.

"That was easier than I thought," Ninten remarked.

"That's because of The Power of Friendship!" Claus grinned, slinging an arm around his shoulder.

Ninten rolled his eyes dramatically. "Yeah, sure," he skeptically replied.

"Or should I say...The Power of Love?"

"You do realize that I will strange you silly if you actually told people about _that_ , right?"

Claus nodded as he fearfully backed away.

"Well, it was nice having fun with everybody," Lucas said.

"Yeah...it was pretty fun," Loid yawned. "I'm tired out now."

"I'm glad you were able to come today," Ninten told the albino. "I agree with you...except about the mistletoe thing Claus," Ninten added, glaring daggers at the redhead in question.

"He's never gonna let that go, is he?" Claus remarked to Ness, who chuckled, amused at his comment.

"You should've known better," Ness told him.

Claus smirked as he turned back to Ninten. "So are you and Ana gonna walk home together?"

"Only because our homes are close together, so shut up." Claus wisely backed down from teasing Ninten about his love life. Ness figured he would vow to keep this silence for the next few months until he was sure Ninten forgot...until he himself forgot the vow and teased him on the bus ride to school.

"Well, I guess we'll be going now," Lucas said. Claus nodded in confirmation of Lucas's statement.

"I will head back as well," Poo announced. "I must be rested so I can train tomorrow."

Kumatora rolled her eyes. "You know you can take a break one in a while, Mister Kung-Fu," she remarked.

"Karate," Poo said, eyes narrowing at her. "There's a distinct difference."

"Well, I won't be bothering everybody any longer," the tomboy said, ignoring Poo's comment. "But don't think this'll be the last you hear of me...And nemesis? You owe me some Smash matches later."

"Can do," Ninten replied as he turned to face Ness. "It was nice coming here for the third celebration, though I could've done without the...eccentrics."

"I can sympathize," Ness chuckled, but then turned to Paula as he realizing something. "What about you?" Ness asked, given that Paula never actually said anything about leaving.

"I want to stay to ask you something," she replied...and was that a hint of pink on her cheeks?"

"Sure," Ness nodded, unsure what she wanted to say."

"Anyway, we'll give you two some time alone," Claus chuckled, heading towards the door. "Enjoy yourselves."

"See ya!"

"Bye!"

"Merry Christmas!"

"Don't get yourself killed by food."

Ness chuckled at Ninten's final words as he watched everyone disperse down the street, heading for their homes. "Well, this certainly was quite a ball, wasn't it?"

Paula nodded. "It was," she said. "I wish we could get together like this more often though...This is the second time everyone got together like this."

"Maybe," Ness agreed as he glanced up at the ceiling, swearing he spotted something hanging there. His eyes widened as he realized what it was. "Look," he said, pointing. "It's the mistletoe Claus used to troll Ninten and Ana. "He must've forgotten about it," Paula observed. Ness lowered his gaze back to his friend as they locked eyes. "I still say there's something going on between Ninten and Ana."

"Given Claus's tendencies, I wouldn't be surprised if they were secretly dating," Ness remarked with a grin. "He would never let poor Ninten hear the end of it."

"Well then, what about making a second couple?" Paula asked, leaning in closer.

Ness's reply was a nod, followed by leaning in as well.

* * *

 **Just want to clear up that the main villain is NOT a Magikarp; it's just a joke. And I have no intention of spoiling the movie anyway, not after making sure it wasn't spoiled for me. Anyway, hope you enjoy this, and have a great Christmas! Or if you don't celebrate it, have a great Winter Break!**


End file.
